HB:28: Texas Havoc on Hemp Legislation | How Advocacy and H.B. 28 Collide in 2025

Once upon a sesh… we were just two creatives chasing relief, not regulations.

That was four years ago.

Before the cameras, before the content, before we were “known.”

Back when HoustonRawket was shooting honest YouTube reviews in his living room, and I (Mona Leafah) was building an online presence out of poems, pain, and perseverance.

We didn’t meet through sponsorships or strategy.

We met through struggle.

Both navigating chronic conditions, black market chaos, and the stigma that chased us every time we tried to speak up.

Fast forward to 2025:

We’re no longer just creators… we’re now targets.

And all eyes are on House Bill 28 (HB 28).

🎯 So What Is H.B. 28?

Think of HB 28 as the legislative cousin of S.B. 3… same anti-hemp energy, just dressed up under a new agency: the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

This bill repackages cannabis access laws under T.A.B.C’s jurisdiction, meaning:

• Hemp Beverages must go through expensive, regulated channels
• Smokeables = flower only (no sprayed, coated, or infused options)

(okay, we’re not that mad at the anti-sprayed packs, ammiright?)

• Marketing is muzzled, with restrictions on speech, packaging, and platforms

(this one could potentially effect my Job, and my ability to promote IndaCloud products from my home)

• Extraction Licenses limited to low-dose, single-cannabinoid products (CBD, CBG, Delta-9)
• Shelf-life is shortened, innovation is punished, and licensing fees keep the gate locked tight unless you’ve got money to burn

Our take: It’s a bait-and-switch wrapped in confusing language.

The very platforms created to help Texans, like the Texas Medicaid Benefits site are now subtly discouraging patients from pursuing THC via TCUP (Texas Compassionate Use Program) by reshaping provider language and threatening insurance eligibility.

Rawket will be able to share more with us regarding the mistreatment of TCUP patients, so stay tuned to our upcoming video interviews to hear more!

🚫 We’re Not Imagining the Misinformation

From local news reports to Department of Health Services memos, we’re seeing coordinated efforts to:

• Spread incomplete or misleading data
• Paint hemp users as abusers
• Suggest that non-addictive, plant-based medicine is somehow more dangerous than prescriptions with a mile-long side effect list

It’s giving Reefer Madness, just with better font choices.

🧠 The Bigger Picture: What “Legal” Is Starting to Look Like

Let’s be blunt:

Texas is trying to create a future where the only legal cannabis looks like underwhelming, over-regulated hemp flower… with no concentrates, no infusions, and zero innovation.

The goal?

To choke out small businesses, discourage consumer education, and reroute money to megacorps.

👯‍♀️ Friendship, Survival & The Black Market We Escaped

When Rawket and I started, we were both using black market products not because we wanted to but because there was L I T E R A L L Y no other option.

We watched countless friends get sick off bad batches, mislabeled vapes, or untested edibles.

We celebrated when hemp went federal.

We breathed a little easier when we could buy products from brands with COAs, clean labels, and transparency.

We thought we’d made it to safety.

But now?

We’re watching it all unravel while being punished for making something of ourselves.

Creators like us didn’t just build platforms…we built trust.

We turned personal pain into public service. 

And now, for daring to thrive outside of a dispensary system that gatekeeps patients, we’re once again under scrutiny.

🗣️ We Are Not The Problem… We Are the Proof

The proof that hemp can:

• Help people manage chronic pain without addiction
• Reduce anxiety, inflammation, and insomnia safely
• Give veterans, mothers, the elderly, and everyday Texans a chance to live better, fuller lives
• Support an economy of creatives, educators, and ethical small businesses

We didn’t “take advantage” of the system… We used it exactly as intended.

Now lawmakers want to flip the rules and punish the very people who gave these laws a purpose.

💬 So What Can You Do?

Whether you’re a patient, a business owner, or a supporter of the plant:
your voice matters more than ever.

Here’s how to fight back:

• Stay Informed: Follow the progress of HB 28 and S.B. 3 at Texas Legislature Online
• Share this story: Use the hashtags #TexansDeserveRelief and #HB28 to raise awareness
• Tag Lawmakers: Ask them where they stand. Make it personal. Remind them YOU vote.
• Tell Your Story: Whether you’ve benefited from hemp or built a business from it… please share what’s at stake for you OR your loved ones.

💚 From Mona to Rawket (and all the real ones reading this)

You’ve had my back since day one, brother.

From swapping pain management tips to co-signing each other’s launches… to now defending a plant that saved our lives.

We made it this far, not by being lucky… but by being loud, loyal, and relentless.

The cloud isn’t backing down.

Not now. Not ever.

#IndaFight #HB28 #Prohibition #TexasCannabis